CFD Team Spotlight: Baiden Wright, Events and Communications Specialist
The Newsletter Team sat down for an interview with our events and communications specialist, Baiden Wright, for an interview about their work, passions, hobbies, and special CFD projects. The transcript of our interview is below.
CFD Team: Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was really raised all over the US though I do consider myself an Oregonian at heart – I was born in California but spent most of my childhood just outside of Portland. At 15, my family picked up and moved to upstate New York where I finished high school, at which point they decided they were done with northern winters and moved to North Carolina (and I can’t blame them!) I graduated from BU this past May with a degree in International Relations and a minor in Spanish. During college, I learned I am really interested in how gender and sexuality, particularly queer identities, intersect with forced displacement.
CFD Team: What is your role within the Center?
I am CFD’s Events and Communications Specialist! My role is more or less exactly what it sounds like. I coordinate and promote CFD events, I build the bi-weekly newsletter, I organize internal meetings, and I order all the food. I love working at the Center because I also am able to work on a variety of diverse projects in addition to my official duties, such as helping coordinate the Summer School and aiding with research projects.
CFD Team: What experiences most directly lead you to your role with the Center?
During my time at BU, I was a student in the Kilachand Honors College, which is how I met our (incredible) associate director, Carrie Preston, who at the time was also the honors college’s director. One of Kilachand’s required courses focused on forced displacement, a topic I already cared a lot about, but didn’t realize was its own academic field of study. The course was immensely impactful, so when I learned that CFD (which at the time was IFD – the Initiative on Forced Displacement) was hiring an undergraduate fellow, I jumped at the opportunity to apply.
CFD Team: What inspires you about this work?
Reading the news, or seeing videos online, it’s really easy to feel discouraged about the state of the world sometimes. At CFD, though, I have the privilege to work with individuals, both on our team and outside of it, who truly have so much passion and drive to make the world a more hospitable place. Working with people who, no matter their skillset or discipline, find new and innovative ways to promote change, spread knowledge, and prioritize kindness is not only inspiring to me but a sign of hope amidst what seems like a lot of bad news these days.
CFD Team: Tell us about some of your passions and hobbies outside of academia. What makes you you?
Everything excites me, especially new things, so as a result I am a tried and true hobby collector. Talking about everything I like to do would likely take up this entire interview, so I’ll share what has been bringing me the most joy recently. I have been experimenting with painting a lot lately, and have been enjoying the physical and mental challenge of weightlifting. I always love the outdoors, and love to spend free time hiking and camping. I have the privilege of choreographing a tap piece for BU on Tap, and I really love taking care of my many (many) plants. And, at risk of revealing that I’m a huge nerd, I’ve recently started playing Dungeons and Dragons and have truthfully gotten quite invested.
CFD Team: What is your current passion project with the Center you would like to highlight? Why does this project resonate with you?
I am really excited about this year’s annual conference, scheduled for April 23rd and 24th, 2024 (save the date!) We plan to adopt innovative, accessible formats for our different sessions such as story lectures and workshops with opportunities for direct engagement. We also plan to incorporate artistic showcases into both days, including visual, performance, musical, and digital art styles among others. I know this will be an incredibly unique and engaging conference, and I am excited to be on a team that is exploring alternative formats to explore really important topics.
CFD Team: Why is this a field that has brought you to dedicate your time and career path to it?
One of my core beliefs is that every person deserves to be treated with dignity. Since middle school, I have honestly held a really strong anger that some identities and individuals are treated with disrespect, contempt, and violence while others are unfairly rewarded. Since middle school, I have also learned a lot, particularly that I am a person who holds a lot of privilege in the world. My answer to this question is thus twofold: first, as a person with privilege, I hold the responsibility to constantly educate myself and do my part to create new spaces for my peers who may not have as much inherent privilege as I do. Second, as a person fueled by a really strong fire, I have a responsibility to use this fire in a productive way, which I feel is to create new knowledge and advocate for universal human dignity.
CFD Team: Do you have any tips and/or advice for people starting out in your field?
This is perhaps a predictable answer, but engage with CFD events and media! Or, more generally, engage with those doing work you’re passionate about. When you identify like-minded professionals and explore your mutual passion, not only do you start building relationships but you start building new ideas, which is the best way to enter a profession in my opinion (though take this with a grain of salt, I have only been a professional for a grand total of 6 months).